REAL FOOD POWER FOR KIDS
Graeme Heron speaks with Claudette Vaughan

Co-founder with Di Skelly Heron of the “Turn Over A New Leaf” food program, Graeme Heron speaks with the Abolitionist- Online on one of their great and latest adventures, “Real Food Power For Kids”.

Abolitionist: Terrific vegan cookbooks for kids are hard are few and far between. What is the principle defining feature in, "Real Food Power for Kids"? What makes your vegan cookbook unique over all the others?

Graeme Heron: After the success of our first book 'Turn Over a New Leafx many of our customers wanted a book for their children, something that wasn't just words and recipes. So we decided to create a fun workbook that parents and kids could use as a resource. Each page is a lesson in itself. So it can help set up a daily practice of focusing on something positive about healthy eating.

Abolitionist: What are some of its special features?

GH: It's special features are, recipes which are fun and easy to make including healthy lunch box ideas. Its educational content is presented in a simple cartoon like format with easy to understand nutritional information presented in small bites of information. All recipes are no sugar, dairy or wheat.

Abolitionist: Real Food Power for Kids is really like a project book for parents and kids to work with learning about healthy food. Tell us more.

GH: The most effective way to learn is by engaging in the creative experience, not just a reading exercise to gain the knowledge; This book gives kids the opportunity to engage in practical easy projects that will not only increase their knowledge about healthy eating and help them to make healthier choices, they will also know how much fun it is to prepare the food they consume.

Abolitionist: Moving kids away from fast, junk and processed foods. What kind of response are you having so far?

GH: Many parents are desperate to find ways to help their children understand the importance of good nutrition. It's not an easy task. They need all the ammunition they can get. The message has to be reinforced over and over. Real Food Power for Kids is a tool which teachers and parents can use to help reinforce that message in a fun and entertaining way. We have had many emails from parents telling us that their children are enjoying the book and learning from it. We see the book as a way to plant seeds for healthy living.

Abolitionist: Are the recipes easy to follow?

GH: The recipes have been written in an easy to follow format with simple instructions. There is an online book club where the kids and parents can look at coloured photographs of the finished dishes.

Abolitionist: What about special needs children. How would Real Foods suit them?

GH: Obviously every body is different and one would have to make allowances for that, but on the whole the recipes would be suitable for almost every child.

Abolitionist: Do you address the kids with allergies?

GH: As the recipes in the books are all no dairy, wheat or sugar this will cater for children who have dairy intolerences, wheat allergies etc. For kids with gluten intolerance, we have a special appendix, online which can be consulted for alternatives to spelt and other grains mentioned in the book.

Abolitionist: You have recorded 99 ways to create healthy eating habits. Can you name a few for us here please?

GH: Sometimes it can be hard to get kids to eat new foods. One suggestion we make in the book is to make a special event out of trying some new dish, like eating it in a tent in the backyard. Itxs much more fun to eat your food by torchlight than sitting at the kitchen table. Or how about something simple like growing sprouts. Kids love the process of making the sprouts and then eating their 'harvest'. Itxs all about making it fun and interesting to learn and experience creating with whole food. And even better, when you eat natural whole food you don't have to read any labels to decide whether it's safe to eat or not.

Abolitionist: The recipes are superb. Who devised them?

GH: The recipes were devised by myself and a team of eager 'tasters'. Many of the recipes have been adapted from popular dishes from around the world or from old favourites my Mum used to make us when we were kids.

Abolitionist: What did you set out to achieve with Real Food Power for Kids and did you did achieve it?

GH: We set out to create a book that was not just a cookbook but an activity book, that would engage children further than just making a few dishes. We wanted them to be able to learn basic nutrition information presented in a fun way and to have questionnaires, colouring in and food related projects to do. We wanted to engage all the senses giving them many different learning experiences and new skills with which to make more informed choices about what they put in their mouths. And according to our feedback on emails, we have achieved that. Of course we are always looking for ways to improve and will continue to do that by creating new books, DVD's, school and kindergarten programs and other activities, but more on that later!!! More info: www.turnoveranewleaf.com.au